Feathered Shadows
by bloggerofmywords
Summary: Five years, a lot can happen in five years. Secrets uncovered. Relationships forged and broken. People can disappear. People can be found. People can die. And, most of all, young heroes can continue to try and discover who they are and what they're meant to do. / OC story. Takes place during the five-year gap. Installment 2 of the Influence Series [sequel to Flight of Mind].
1. When Blood Runs Green

**A/N: Zin (formerly called Hallie): WELCOME TO FEATHERED SHADOWS! This is a long chapter. Longest we've ever written I think but a good way to kick off the second installment of the Influence series! In this installment, everything that happens will occur in the five year gap that is between seasons one and two.**

 **Sooo… we will be covering a lot. ALSO! If you haven't read "Flight of Mind" before this, you might wanna go and do that. Or else things won't make a ton of sense.**

 **Em: Plus, it's not a bad installment and you just might enjoy it.**

 **Zin: Sorry this took so long. SOMEONE took a while to respond when it came time for her to write during her turns. HMMMMM. Wonder who that could be.**

 **Em: I refuse to dignify that sarcastic hint with an answer.**

 **Zin: Anyways, it's here now! I own Fantasia/Ren Logan, the "Voice", Creatonia/ians, and Joshua Logan. Emu owns Owl Thanagarians and Autumn Pines/Screech Owl.**

 **We do not own Young Justice or any DC material.**

 **Em: Enjoy! :)**

* * *

March 2, 2011

The jungle was thick and dense, the air so heavy with moisture that it made it hard to move, like trying to trek through a wall of cotton. Walking through the thickets of leaves and branches were two birds, a creator, and a beast.

They were on the hunt for a predator named Lex Luther. He had set up shop in the Amazon Rainforest for some unknown reason. It was their job to figure out why.

Fantasia had imagined a machete and handed it off to Robin, who was using it to slice through the undergrowth. Screech took up the rear, keeping an ear out for trouble. Beast Boy walked ahead of her. He had insisted upon coming on the mission and convinced Bats that he needed a bit more on-the-field training, and this was just a recon mission.

The two Creatonians and the Boy Wonder had been talking amongst themselves as they walked through the jungle, and Screech had been listening in from time to time. Something Beast Boy had just said got her attention.

"Giant river otters?"

BB looked over his shoulder to grin back at her, "Yeah! They're one of my favorite animals!"

She smiled back, "Cool. I like hedgehogs, myself. And snakes are pretty neat."

Beast Boy's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Huh. I thought your favorite animal would be owls. You know, 'cause of your hero name."

Screech chuckled. "While they're high up on the list, I actually got my name from Thanagar. Some people call my race, Owls. Combine that with one of my abilities, and viola- Screech Owl."

"Noted." With a smile, he turned back to the front.

The group of heroes arrived at the bank of the Amazon River, where they found a base set up in a clearing. A few men were scattered about. They made sure to stay away and hidden.

They staked out from the bushes for a while, but there wasn't much activity until a group of men came from the treeline with three muzzled giant otters in a wheeled cage that was much too small for them.

Screech shuddered, her disgust for the men rising, and the two Creatonians clenched their fists.

They handed the cage off to some other workers. "The tranq should be in effect for another twenty minutes, but you might want to hurry it along, just in case."

With a nod of acknowledgment, they turned around and brought the cage inside.

"We need to stop this," BB stated, glaring at them.

"Agreed," his sister said, staring pointedly at the Boy Wonder.

He sighed. "I agree, too, but Bats specifically told us to not infiltrate the base. We need to report back to him before we do anything."

"But we could-!"

"Beast Boy," Robin interrupted him. "I know it's frustrating, but the radios are out of range, and we need a plan. Plus, you know how Bats gets."

He did know. But those poor animals needed help, and they were already there, able to provide it! It seemed pointless to waste time going back to Happy Harbor.

However... Beast Boy also wanted to join the Team so that he could assist on other missions. That wouldn't happen if he couldn't even follow orders on a simple recon mission.

"...Fine. Let's go."

* * *

The proposal for a return mission went over well with Batman after reporting back that Luther seemed to want the Otters for a particular oil their fur produced, which could prove to be beneficial to humans in some way. Robin had to return to Gotham and was replaced with Miss. Martian, but otherwise, there weren't many tweaks to be made. Save for one detail that he disagreed with.

"Beast Boy will not be accompanying you."

"We don't know exactly what Luthor's up to," Fantasia agreed, chiming in. "It could be really dangerous."

BB was not pleased. "But I want to help!"

"He'd be a useful asset," a soft voice in the back piped up.

All eyes turned on Screech Owl, more than a little surprised, whether they showed it or not. The girl was usually silent during briefings.

She steeled herself and proceeded quietly with the speech she had worked on the whole way back, "Beast Boy can talk to the giant otters, right? He can get us more information with less risk of being caught eavesdropping or hacking, and sneak past defenses with some of his smaller animal forms. He has remained under the radar, so they won't know to look out for him. And he will get some good experience, too. Field work is much different than training. He won't know what to improve on in theory if he hasn't found his flaws in practice."

There was tense silence for a few moments, during which Screech suppressed the nervous expression struggling to slip onto her face and gazed steadily back at her Teammates and their mission assigner. It wouldn't do for it to be misinterpreted as uncertainty in her arguments.

The moment ended with Batman conceding, "Fine; he may go."

Fantasia sighed, clearly discontent with the arrangement, but for once not protesting. Beast Boy grinned at Screech Owl, who nodded minutely with a small smile.

Robin ruffled Beast Boy's hair and said, "Good luck, BB," as he passed.

Mission prep was quick, and soon the four assigned heroes were boarding the Bioship and were on their way back to the Amazon.

* * *

March 4, 2011

Fantasia did not like this.

Correction: She liked helping the animals, but she very much did not like her little brother coming on a possibly dangerous mission with them. He wasn't ready.

At least not in her eyes. To her, he may never be. Gar was her baby brother. He came before everything else, no questions asked. She could clearly recall the day that he first started school at age five.

Garfield was thrilled to be following his big sister to where she went all day, leaving him alone. The idea of meeting kids his age that he could play with made him all giddy inside. Ren, on the other hand, wasn't keen on the concept of putting her brother in an environment where he might get hurt.

Alfred had to remind her that at some point, she had to let Gar figure things out on his own and that she wouldn't always be right next to him. The Creatonian relented her overprotective tendencies a tad after she spent the entire first week checking in on her brother whenever possible.

He had cornered her that first Friday, complaining about how his new friends were laughing at the fact that his big sister kept poking her head in. Ren merely ruffled his hair, promising to back off but that she would never stop looking out for him.

Fantasia knew that he would be joining the Team sooner or later, but was hoping for later. Something in her gut told her to keep an eye on him. Whether that was overprotectiveness or a sign of possible danger, she didn't know.

Her eyes gazed out the window of the Bioship, watching the treeline rise as they lowered onto the ground. Miss. Martian stood from the pilot's seat, smiling at her three companions, "We're here!"

Beast Boy jumped up from his seat, "Let's kick some butt!"

"Hold on there, kid," Fantasia placed a hand on his shoulder, "You're here to help with the animal part, not the fighting part."

"But I'm ready!"

"One step at a time, BB."

Screech caught the younger boy's eye and nodded. "I have to agree with her this time. Just remember that by getting us more information and letting us know what we're up against, you're making the fighting less dangerous."

The youngest hero crossed his arms with a huff, "Fine. But I at least get to fight one bad guy if we have to."

Screech smirked, amused. She hadn't been nearly as gung-ho to fight when she first started out (and still wasn't, to be honest). She was almost willing to trade roles with him just to give him a chance, something he clearly wanted.

Almost.

Sending a glance towards the boy's older sister, Screech let the quirked corner of her mouth fall. "Only if we have to," she responded, absentmindedly twisting her eye charm. "I suppose we should get started, then?"

Miss. Martian-who had taken the leadership role for the mission-opened the bioship, allowing everyone to exit. She took the lead as the four heroes began to make their way to the intended destination. Fantasia made sure Beast Boy was in front of her so that she could keep a watchful eye on him, and Screech Owl trailed not far behind her.

Fantasia, usually quite light hearted on lower-stake missions, seemed to have fallen into a serious demeanor at the presence of her little brother.

Screech pretended not to notice. After all, things always went wrong when she brought up anything of this nature.

They had landed the bioship a safe distance from the site, far enough to avoid detection, but close enough that they were back in the bushes surrounding it in less than ten minutes. Beast Boy crouched down next to the Thanagarian, realizing she would be the least protective out of the three girls. His eyes were intensely scanning the area in front of them, his determination to prove himself practically radiating off from his form.

Miss. Martian's voice filtered through their minds. _Everyone online?_

 _Linked up and ready to go!_ Beast Boy exclaimed.

 _Yep,_ Screech confirmed with a quiet chuckle.

 _All good over here._ Fantasia added in. _Beast Boy should stay back until we locate the otters._

 _But sis!_ Beast Boy whined before he could stop himself. Quickly, he added a justification. _I could help find them! Isn't that why part of why I'm here? 'Cause I can sneak around easier?_

Fantasia wasn't having any of his excuses to be more involved than he had to, _You're here to communicate with the otters, we can handle the rest._

 _Fine,_ he sighed, disappointed, but acknowledging defeat.

Miss. Martian cloaked herself after nodding at her teammates, signaling that she was headed out. No men were around the area which they were located, but loud voices told them that they were congregated near by. Screech activated her cloaking device and followed suit after a quick smile at Beast Boy. Fantasia remained where she was to keep a lookout for anyone who might come by and to make sure her brother didn't wander off.

Before long, Miss. Martian called in a report. _The Otters are in cages near the biggest tent, by the back of the camp._

 _We still don't know why Luthor wants their oil, though,_ Screech added, using her super hearing in an attempt to answer the question.

Fantasia quipped back, _Then use your super hearing to try and pick up something that tells us why._

 _Great idea, why didn't I think of that?_ Screech's sarcasm was almost palpable as she shook her head and went back to doing just that.

Fantasia smirked, _Well, clearly you didn't think of it since I had to suggest it to you first._

 _Let's all ignore the fact that that's what I was doing before I chimed in_ , Screech playfully snarked back.

 _Could've fooled me,_ the Creatonian deadpanned.

The Thanagarian, intent on listening to the sounds outside of her brain, didn't answer this time.

Beast Boy noticed that his sister wasn't being snide to be playful, she was getting irritated and he had a hunch that it was relating back to him-he chose to stay quiet.

It was only a few minutes before Screech caught a snippet of something that got her blood boiling. _Beauty treatments?!_

Started by the outburst, Miss. Martian jumped and looked over at her usually quiet teammate in surprise. _What?_

 _They're locking up living creatures to get their oil for beauty treatments! This is a joke, right?_ She forced down the indignant feeling and sighed. _Some people_ , she mentally grumbled, glaring daggers at the apparently unapologetic workers. Did they even know how horrible it was to be stuck in a cage barely big enough to lay flat in?

 _Odd, LexCorp isn't known for being involved in beauty products. Maybe they are expanding?_ Fantasia asked.

Screech calmed down a tad before responding, _Sounds like an experimental side business. Nothing substantial. I say we shut it down before it becomes a decent opportunity for them._

 _I agree,_ Miss. Martian said. _We need to free the otters and make sure the guys working here know to leave and never return. We also should find out if there are any traps laid out in the waters meant to lure other otters near._

 _So, who does what?_ Beast Boy piped up.

 _Screech and I will remain cloaked and free the otters while Fantasia stands lookout. Once they are free Beast Boy will communicate with them to find out if there are any traps nearby. If there are, Screech and Tasia should fly out and deal with those while BB and I figure out the best way to deal with the workers._ Miss. Martian's voice held a formal tone compared to that of her typical happy-go-lucky vocals.

 **Sounds like a plan.** Screech nodded at her partner, determined, then took a closer look at the cages' locks. _It looks like we need a standard key card. Shouldn't be too hard, right?_

The Thanagarian jolted as something small, thin, and hard hit the back of her head. Turning around, she found a newly-imagined standard key card on the ground and a Creatonian returning to her post.

She let out a slight chuckle and picked up the card. _Not what I had planned, but that works. Thanks._

 _That's what I'm here for._ Fantasia's tone was biting as her words rang in the minds of her teammates. She wanted to get this mission done and over with, all so her baby brother would be out of any possible danger.

Screech, recognizing the tone, promptly shut up. Silently, she slipped the card into her pocket and turned towards the cages once more. She and Miss. Martian crept towards them.

Most of the otters were asleep; their fur was matted, and many looked famished. The care for these creatures was little to none. The girl's eyes narrowed as she slid the card into the lock of the nearest cage.

The door slowly creaked open, and one flaw in their plan became glaringly obvious to Screech Owl: what were they going to do with the otters once they were set free?

Slowly, she closed the door most of the way. _Um... Tas? Is there any way you or BB can get the otters to stay put while Miss. Martian and I free the rest?_

 _Yeah. It should be possible._ Fantasia responded.

 _Okay. So, can wake these guys up, and you can meet me over here and help me get them out._

 _Alright._ Fantasia turned to her brother, who was to her right and made sure he was on the same page. The smile on his face told her that he was and that he was happy to be assigned something more than just the lookout and communicator. A protector was a step up, and he was going to be the best otter defender there ever was.

Meanwhile, Screech opened the cage just enough for her and the Martian to step in. She placed a rock in front of the door to make sure it didn't close but nevertheless kept her hand on it as she reached to wake the nearest otter. Miss. Martian looked behind her as the door moved slightly, but quickly ignored it and went to a different otter.

Carefully, Screech Owl placed her hand behind its head, out of reach from its teeth, and shook gently.

The creature stirred slowly and sluggishly turned to look where her hand was. Seeing nothing, it looked forward again and brightened up when it saw the slightly opened door.

"Ah, no," Screech whispered as it started to stand. "Um, stay, please don't move yet." She hit the button on her stealth shield, let go of the door, and awkwardly motioned for it to stay down. Surprisingly, it did.

Fantasia watched as Screech and Miss. Martian opened the cages, and when most of them were open, she and her brother snuck through the tangles of vines and trees to where the cages were. A final sweep of the area around them confirmed that there were no direct threats to their plan at the moment.

BB quickly talked to the otters and found the locations of a few traps. Screech and Fantasia left to disable them, leaving the Martian and younger Creatonian to deal with the workers as planned. Fantasia was not a fan of leaving her brother, but she trusted Miss. Martian and she knew her powers would be useful in making sure they could safely disable whatever traps they came across.

Fantasia and Screech flew to the nearest trap in a tense silence. The latter didn't dare say anything and instead busied herself listening for possible threats. Landing across the river where the operation way camped along, the Creatonian imagined her wings away and drew her gaze along the shore, keeping an eye out for the traps that were supposedly located there.

Screech picked up a faint metallic whirring and pointed in its direction. Fantasia imagined a device that was able to dismantle the trap and the duo continued on their way, taking out a total of six traps before heading back to base.

Now all they had to do was get the otters out safely.

Reaching the area where their teammates were located, shouting in foreign languages could be heard. The closer they got, the better Fantasia was able to see that Miss. Martian and Beast Boy were darting around, knocking out and restraining the workers who were attempting to fight back. The Creatonian had the urge the jump into the middle of the battle, ready to keep her brother out of harm's way, but a hand on her shoulder held her in place.

Screech swallowed as Fantasia's gaze met her own. Nervous, but steadfast, she quietly repeated what she had said earlier: "He won't know what to improve on in theory if he hasn't found his flaws in practice." The corner of her lip twitched up a little. "They've got it covered, Tas. If they need us, they'll let us know."

The Creatonian doesn't reply, merely watching her little brother fight without her by his side. Maybe they were right. She trusted her brother; maybe she was worrying over nothing.

A pained cry echoed throughout the jungle.

"BEAST BOY!" Miss. Martian's voice rang out soon after.

Shoving Screech's hand away, Fantasia launched out of their hiding place and viciously fought her way in the direction of the cry. Screech, meanwhile, froze where she stood, the color draining out of her face.

" _What have I done?_ "

Another distressed noise pushed the thought aside. The Thanagarian followed after her friend, prepared to do what she could.

* * *

The thickness of the jungle felt like it kept getting denser and denser the more Fantasia tried to fight against it. Her mind was blank and her heart racing. The only thing that mattered was getting to her baby brother.

Pushing through vines and saplings, the Creatonian stumbled into the base's clearing. All around her, she could see unconscious and restrained workers. Near one of the tents set up for refuge, she found Miss. Martian hunched over the unresponsive body of her brother.

The sight caused her to freeze for a moment, mind racing to catch up with the situation. Trying to figure out what she needed to do to make sure he was going to be alright. Snapping out of her daze, she hurried to Beast Boy's side, eyes scanning his body. It took mere moments to realize that, thank the heavens, he was still breathing and that the cause of the panic was a stab wound to the abdomen.

Her heart was pounding, blood roaring in her ears. She wanted to run and hide and convince herself that this was all a dream. But, she couldn't, at least, not now. Drawing in a shaky breath, she turned to the teary-eyed Martian next to her, as she began to put pressure on her brother's wound, "What happened?"

Miss. Martian didn't look at her, "H-he was doing so well. Taking out worker after worker. We were down to the last two when the one BB was handling pulled out a switchblade and stabbed him. I took out both of the remaining men. I… I am so sorry."

Screech caught up to Fantasia at that moment. The moment her gaze landed on Beast Boy, she reached for her pouch and retrieved a bottle of water. She dropped a purification tablet inside for good measure, then placed it and a small roll of bandages next to the Creatonian so she could clean and bind the wound.

Knowing the older heroine probably wanted her far away from her brother (and who could blame her), she quickly left to check the restraints of the workers.

Fantasia could feel her brother's blood pulsating out at a rapid rate from beneath her fingers. He was bleeding out, fast. Grateful for the supplies Screech had given her, she quickly recalled the basic medical training the League made sure most everyone on the Team was equipped with. The Creatonian could feel the panic bubbling up and did her best to repress it, for now, was not the time for hysterics.

White noise seemed to fill her mind as she locked into auto-pilot. She would later vaguely recall asking Miss. Martian to watch over her brother as she imagined her Image Tome to be large and pulled out a stored Door Portal leading to the Cave. Calling out to Screech, she gathered up her younger brother, careful not to disturb the wound, and prepared to go through the door.

Screech bolted towards the Door Portal, knowing that they would hopefully send someone soon to collect the BioShip and the workers. It closed behind her, and the four were back in the Cave. Without missing a beat, Fantasia strode towards the infirmary, and Screech called for Red Tornado.

The following minutes were a rush of teammates and Leaguers, all trying to make sure Beast Boy remained stable. It didn't take long for Batman to arrive on the scene and to begin directing what needed to be done. Fantasia was silent on the sidelines, unable to do anything but watch them work. She could barely make out what everyone was saying in the daze she remained in.

She caught hold of the words "blood transfusion" and "rare blood type" and "M'gann can transfigure her blood type." Soon, everyone was shuffled out of the area except for Batman and Miss. Martian. Fantasia felt her feet carry her to the kitchen along with the rest of the Team, but while they stopped there, she kept going.

* * *

As soon as the Team was bustled out of the way, Autumn slipped into her bedroom and changed out of her hero gear. Keeping an ear towards the Infirmary, she quietly berated herself as she pulled on a clean tee.

"You just had to convince them, huh, Seph?" She muttered. "Batman and Tas probably saw something I didn't. Should've trusted their judgment instead of your own. What do you know, anyway? You're still a rookie yourself." Autumn caught sight of her reflection and smiled bitterly at it. "Great job."

Autumn walked out of her room and nearly ran into Conner. Stepping back, she flung her arms out in exasperation, and exclaimed, "I swear, you just pop out of the ground!"

The clone just raised an eyebrow at her.

"What? Oh." Realizing that she had been speaking Thanagarian since she entered her room, she changed back to English. "Um, sorry."

Conner shook his head as though to dismiss it. "What happened?"

Autumn ran him through the series of events: finding the Otters, coming back to the Cave, going back out having traded Robin for M'gann and BB (the latter on her insistence), and the fight that went wrong.

The clone nodded. "And, um... you okay?"

The heroine chuckled sardonically. "I'm not the one in the Infirmary, at least until Tas and Batman get their hands on me."

"I'm sure Beast Boy'll be fine." He gently ruffled Autumn's dark hair. "And, you know... it's not your fault. He had to get out there sooner or later."

He straightened up and walked back towards the kitchen, clearly expecting her to follow.

Feeling just a tad bit better, she did so.

Of course, he had a point. Garfield couldn't have been protected forever, especially not with his family being who they were. That didn't excuse her part in it, but it was some sort of consolation. It was at least _partially_ her fault, mostly hers at worse case scenario, but perhaps he just didn't understand the details.

Yeah, that seemed right.

Besides, she knew a few heroes who probably wanted to yell at her. She might as well let them do the job for her.

* * *

' _You weren't there to protect him. You let him down. You're just like your father-you let your only direct family down.'_

Clenching her eyes shut, she tried to push the voice away. Her dad didn't let her down; he could have never let her down. Now was not the time for the voice to be plaguing her every thought, not that it ever maintained a strict schedule.

Ren found herself back in her room at home. She couldn't stand to be in the Cave any longer but couldn't bring herself to be unfindable. Thankfully, her mom was at work. Leaning against her bed's headboard, she ran her fingers through her red locks, "I knew he wasn't ready. I knew it wasn't time for him to be on the field."

"We all have slip-ups, Ren. Every one of us has gotten hurt on the field at one point or another."

Looking up at the sound of a newcomer's voice, she found Dick leaning against her now-open doorway. She sometimes hated that he had a key. She blinked, sighed, and looked away, "Everyone isn't my little brother."

The right side of her bed dipped as the boy she called one of her best friends took a seat next to her. He rested a hand on her shoulder, "Bruce says he's gonna pull through. His body appears to have accepted the blood transfusion."

"I know he's going to be fine. I'm fine."

He squeezed her shoulder before letting his hand fall, "Never said you weren't."

The duo sat in silence for a while, comfortable with just being in one another's presence. Dick glanced over at the clock sitting on Ren's nightstand-they had been there for nearly an hour. He sighed, pushing himself off the bed, before turning back to the Creatonian, "We should really head back."

"I'm fine here for now."

"Ren, seriously, Gar's gonna want you there when he wakes up. Plus, I think you might need to have a chat with Autumn."

Ren turned to look up at Dick, her brows furrowed, "Why?" Was something wrong? She hadn't noticed anything. Then again, she hadn't noticed much besides her brother for the past few hours.

Dick held out his hand to pull her off from her bed, "She has her "guilty-face" on. Most of the Team has already taken notice."

"Of course she does." Ren sighed, taking Dick's hand and allowed herself to be pulled into a standing position. He gave her hand a squeeze before letting go and heading towards her door. Following, she pushed any shred of worry or doubt she had for her brother's situation to the side, knowing it wasn't going to help her or him or anyone.

Everything was fine.

Everything would always be fine.

* * *

The kitchen had basically become a makeshift waiting room by this point. A few Team members had left when they found out that Garfield was more than likely going to pull through, and slowly it dwindled to just the Cave's usual inhabitants. Conner and M'gann were talking at the table, Kaldur was looking over some mission notes, and Autumn was huddled on a counter, reading. Or, rather, gazing at the pages. She had kept her earbuds out in order to catch any footsteps that may be coming over with further news.

She hadn't said more than a handful of words since she walked in with Conner. This wasn't strange for her, but there was something in the way she held herself, especially when Batman had entered the room earlier, that made her silence stand out.

The other three heroes routinely glanced up at her. As Robin had said, they had all seen and recognized her 'guilty-face,' but weren't sure how to proceed past that. It was usually Ren's job. Conner had already tried and apparently failed, and was now at as much of a loss as the others.

Autumn, for her part, pretended not to notice the glances.

 _Recognized, Fantasia. B01. Recognized, Robin, B02._

The Cave was mostly silent as the two young heroes entered. Robin left Ren to go train with one final squeeze of her shoulder. She knew she should go and visit Garfield, but he was still asleep, and she didn't even know what to say to him when he did awaken. Entering the kitchen, she raked her gaze over the few teammates that remained. When her eyes crossed to the counter, they met with Autumn's, who blinked and quickly looked back to her book, shoulders tense.

Rob was right; she did have her "guilty-face" on.

With a sigh, the Creatonian made her way to stand next to the Thanagarian. Resting her elbow on the countertop, she looked up at Autumn, who refused to look over at her friend. Her eyes remained fixed around the center of her page, and she seemed to be bracing herself as if preparing for impact.

"Kiddo," Ren plucked the book out of Autumn's hands, placing it down on the counter, so it saved her spot, "It's not your fault."

Her shocked amber gaze flew up to meet Ren's. "But... But I..." She stuttered to a stop.

This didn't make any sense.

She was the reason Gar was there with them, to begin with, putting him in danger against the instincts of his sister and godfather. She was the one to convince Ren to stay out of the fight, insisting that M'gann and the younger Creatonian had it under control. She fucked up as she so often did, but this time someone besides her was actually hurt. It was bad enough that he even needed an emergency blood transfusion.

And to top it all off, the injured was Ren's little brother.

There was no doubt the redhead understood all the details of what happened. She had reacted far worse for lesser offenses. But now, the time Autumn felt it was most deserved, there was nothing? Why was no one blaming her but herself?

Ren sighed, "I… I know what you expect from me at this point, from how I've reacted-over-reacted-to things in the past. And while this seems like the perfect situation for me to blow out of proportion, I can't, because it would draw my attention away from where it needs to be, and that's Gar. So, it's not your fault."

Everything in the Creatonian was screaming at her take it all back, take back admitting that she had messed up out loud but for some reason she didn't, she couldn't. Ren didn't know if surrendering would be something she could do more often or easily now, but given the circumstances, she felt like it was something that had to be done.

Because her little brother didn't need her sulking or blaming or running away, he needed her to be by his side, protecting him. Garfield came first. Always had. Always would.

Autumn opened her mouth to protest but instantly snapped it shut again.

Now wasn't the time to be stubborn. Ren was right: the cause wasn't as important as the result and how it could be fixed. And right now, her guilt complex was distracting from what needed to be focused on.

Autumn closed her eyes and breathed in. "O-Okay... Okay." Looking back at Ren with a faint smile, she continued, "This time, let's just... put it down to the universe being a prick, and leave it at that."

Ren returned her smile before reaching over and ruffling the younger's hair, "I can agree to that."

The Creatonian quickly turned when a tap was administered to her shoulder. M'gann was standing behind her, looking fatigued, but alright nonetheless, "Garfield is awake, and the blood transfusion worked. He's asking for you."

Autumn's smile grew, unfolding herself, she nudged her foot against Ren's leg and nodded towards the door. "If it comes up, let him know I'm..." she paused, biting off the _sorry_ that wanted to slip by habit. "That I'm glad he's okay."

Ren nodded before heading off with to the medical bay to see her brother.

* * *

Garfield's torso ached something terrible, but he was alive, and that was all that mattered. He wanted his sister, to make sure she wasn't going off the rails due to him being hurt-Gar knew how she could get.

He glanced around the recovery room he was situated in. Whites and grays covered every surface. Gar hoped that Ren would bring him a book or video game or something, for dear Batman, it was dull just sitting around.

He had only been awake for ten minutes. He wasn't sure how much of "recovering" he would be able to handle without losing his mind. A smile crossed his face when he heard the door to his room open-Ren, she would be sure to take his mind off everything.

Garfield knew that things were going to be just fine as his _green eyes_ landed on his older sister.

* * *

 _Fin_


	2. The Importance of Communication

**A/N: After two year of stalling we have returned. (Sorry.) Some pretty significant character changes have occurred, but to get anything new done, we can't go back and fix everything about their written backstories atm. So, we're just gonna update you on the changes that will be considered canon from this point on (and we will go back and fix old chapters to conform with this later.)**

 **Ren: MARIE LOGAN NEVER DIED. So, Ren was not raised by Bruce, and she did not live in Wayne Manor. Marie raised her two children as a single parent after her husband "died" (she still thinks he is really dead). They live in a lovely townhouse in Gotham, and both Ren and Gar go to Gotham Academy. Marie makes a good living by being a vet in the area after she finishes college. Bruce is still Ren's Godfather and considers the Logan's part of the family since Josh asked him to watch over them as he left. Ren still grew up best friends with Dick and all that. And she was still aware of Bruce's identity from a young age since he had to bring her to the League for her power training.**

 **Autumn: Some tweaks to events, timing, and other stuff that is not relevant right now.**

 **Our new goal is to have a chapter up once every two months since we are both freshmen in college with part-time jobs. Wooh.**

 **For those who have been waiting for this, thanks for sticking around. For those newbies, welcome to this hell hole.**

 **For anyone reading this, we love you tons. Feedback and constructive criticism are always super welcome!**

 **In this chapter: Ren and Autumn have a much needed conversation.**

 **Enjoy! :D**

 **-Zin and Em**

* * *

March 10, 2011

The atmosphere over the Cave was peaceful. Had been, really, since the fiasco in the Amazon about a week prior. It was nearing dawn. The sky was lightening, shades of red and orange starting to streak through the quickly-fading navy blue of the night.

Autumn watched as the light crept across the wall. She closed her eyes and evened out her breathing, trying to coax her brain to sleep-if she were going to get any sleep tonight, now would be the time-but to no avail. Her eyes blinked open again twenty minutes later. With a sigh, she rolled out of bed and walked over to the window, placing her elbows on the sill and her chin in her hands.

She often had problems sleeping, but this was getting ridiculous. If the pattern kept up, she wouldn't be able to fall asleep until she trudged back from school, her mind on nothing but her room, where she would stay until training. She'd already fallen asleep on one of the chairs in the common area earlier that week, which had been mortifying. (She'd woken up when Kaldur tried to drape a blanket over her and had almost decked him in the resulting panic, which made it worse.)

She scowled at herself. Many of her teammates had already told her that Garfield getting hurt had not been her fault, including the shapeshifter himself. No one involved appeared to put the blame on her except for herself. She should be able to believe her teammates. That's what a team _did_ ; they trusted each other. So why could she not bring herself to believe them?

Because she was self-centered and had a knack for drawing attention towards her own feelings and away from where it actually needed to be. Even if her teammates were right, and the incident itself hadn't been her fault, her... "guilty face," as she heard the team call it, had drawn undue concern towards her when it should have been on the boy being stabilized in the infirmary.

Garfield had later told her that Ren had been genuinely trying to apologize for her past overreactions, not accusing her of anything, but she wasn't quite sure she believed him. The dominant part of her still thought that Ren had, intentionally or not, pointed out a problem that she saw. A flaw in Autumn's behavior.

Well. That was something to work on, she supposed.

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay? You look greener than you did an hour ago? Do we need to get Black Canary? I'm gonna go get Black Canary?" Ren started out the door, trying to ignore her little brother's eye rolls.

"Oh my god. Ren. Stop. I am fine. Manhunter told us more than once that this whole green thing is a result of the blood transfusion M'gann gave me. Honestly, I think it's pretty cool! But, I'm healing well. I. Am. Fine."

Ren relented and stopped in her tracks. She turned around and sat at the edge of his bed in the Cave. That had been her resting spot for most of the week if you don't count the loveseat against the wall that she had made her temporary bed. Their mom had tried to get her to come home on multiple occasions but to no avail. If Black Canary thought it was best for Gar to recover in the Cave, then she was staying there too.

She sighed, "I'm sorry. It's just… you almost died, Gar. You could've died." Her voice got quiet towards the end, and she stopped talking before her voice could crack.

Garfield winced a bit as he sat up straighter in his bed and put a hand on his sister's arm, "But, I didn't. Thanks to you and M'gann and the rest of the Team and League. I'm okay. It's bad enough with mom here every second she isn't at work, but you literally will not leave my side. I love you. Really I do, but, sis, go do something else. Anything else. I am begging you here!"

Ren scoffed and pushed his hand away playfully, "You can be really dramatic sometimes."

"Look who's talking!"

"Yeah, yeah." She suppressed a smile. "Alright, I'll leave you alone for a while." She stood up and stretched before making her way towards the door. "Oh!" She stopped and turned around, "Canary said you were good enough to take home today. Mom's gonna be by after work to help with all of that."

Gar nodded with a smile, "Finally! I was starting to feel like I was a prisoner."

"Drama Queen."

"Pot, meet kettle."

"I hate you."

"Hey, send in Wally, will you? I need some 'dude time' with somebody."

"You got it, Gar-Bear. Love you," Ren said with a smile.

"Love you too, sis."

* * *

Ren made her way into the Cave's common room, looking around for any of her teammates. M'gann was in the kitchen, again. Wally had just headed to her brother's room. Dick was who knows where. Sterling was on the couch playing with his camera, and then there was Autumn. Sitting in the far of the corner of the sofa, reading.

Now that she thought about it, that was all she had seen Autumn doing all week. Granted, most of her time was spent with her brother, but still. Ren took a seat next to Sterling, "Hey."

"Why, howdy, darlin'. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Oh, tone down the country, Sunbeam," Ren laughed before her smile dropped a bit along with her voice. "Has Autumn seemed a bit… reclusive to you this week?"

Sterling glanced at the smaller girl across the room before nodding slightly, "A bit I would say. I've tried talkin' to her now and then, but she would find a way out of the conversation pretty quick."

Autumn, for her part, didn't notice the conversation. She had found a book that she was able to completely fall into, which was a great temporary fix that she always took advantage of. Between that and struggling to stay awake to continue reading, she wasn't paying any attention to her surroundings.

Ren observed her. Other than being able to tell that she was closed off, she was having a difficult time reading Autumn to see what was wrong past the surface level, something she had noticed was a reoccurring factor. Frustration grew in the pit of her stomach because with anyone else, this was never a problem. Every part of her itched to go over and push the younger girl to tell her what was wrong, but something stopped her.

' _You know, that hasn't always worked well in the past, dear.'_ Great. The fucking voice was back. She didn't respond to it, but it did make an interesting point. It hasn't always worked well in the past.

Okay then. New approach. Leave her alone until she wants to talk. That's how Ren always prefers things to go when it concerns her… minus the talking part. She shot a quick goodbye to Sterling after she decided to go train some. Standing up, she walked past Autumn without a glance. (It wasn't as easy as it looked.)

The approaching footsteps snapped Autumn out of her half-awake daze, and her eyes flicked upwards as her friend passed. She felt her heart sink a little as she breezed by without so much as a look. They hadn't spoken since Garfield had woken up. Granted, Ren had spent the majority of the ensuing week at her brother's bedside, and Autumn couldn't blame her for that at all, but now that she was out…

Robin's voice played in the back of her mind. Words of advice: _When the silent treatment ends, you have been forgiven._

She breathed a small sigh and looked back at her book. Apparently, someone else on the team _was_ upset with her, now that Garfield was out of the woods- though she wasn't sure if it was for the accident itself, or for distracting her later. Apologizing was out of the question, as it always was with Ren, so all she could really do was wait it out.

Getting back into her book proved to be futile; now that her attention had been torn away from it, the pressure in the back of her head and the way her eyes kept closing without her consent demanded that she pay attention to her need for sleep. She didn't last five minutes. Giving her head a sharp shake, she stood up and made a beeline for her room. Noticing Sterling looking at her, she gave a small nod and ducked her head as she passed.

* * *

March 10, 2011. 6:35 PM

"The League has recently noticed that one of the Detroit gangs we've been keeping an eye on have been expanding," Batman addressed the four young heroes gathered in the common area of the cave. "They're still relatively small but are growing fast. What we need right now is information. This is a strictly covert mission. Do not engage unless attacked first."

"And, preferably, don't be attacked first," Robin cut in.

"Yes. They appear to be based near the Livernois area, though exactly where is uncertain. Any identifying marks or colors have not been determined as of yet. There've been reports of a blue 1981 GMC Vandura near most of their activity; it's suspected that it belongs to one of the higher-ups. If you see the van, follow it. Any questions?"

He was answered with four head shakes. "You are dismissed."

Once they reached Detroit via the Bioship, it didn't take long for them to catch wind of the van near one of the areas that were reported to have high gang activity. Ren imagined herself invisible and was able to get close enough to the van to stick one of Robin's trackers on it. Once the Boy Wonder got it connected, they were ready to go. They loaded up in the veiled Bioship controlled by M'gann and followed the van just a few yards behind.

"Okay," Robin spoke up. "Assuming the van is taking us to the gang's main hangout, I think we should split into pairs to get quicker coverage of the area."

"Sounds good," M'gann said.

"Perfect." Robin turned towards Ren and Autumn, "Fantasia and Screech, how about you two make one pair and M'gann and I make the other? That way the two people who can turn invisible are split up."

Autumn glanced towards the Creatonian a little nervously but nodded when she did. She wasn't about to interfere with a mission in the name of giving Ren space.

Ren didn't want to push Autumn too far this time, but they should be okay during a mission. Right?

"Right," Robin continued. "M'gann, establish mental comms."

She nodded. _Everyone on?_

After getting three affirmatives, silence fell until the van stopped in front of a network of small warehouses. Five people climbed out and walked towards different entrances.

 _Alright, M'gann and I will follow the three that went left,_ Robin said. _You two take the ones on the right._

 _Got it._ Ren responded as everyone left the Bioship. She imagined herself invisible once more and stayed far enough behind their men so that they wouldn't suspect anything. She noticed Autumn disappear on her right as she activated her own stealth mode. The pair they were tailing walked through the door, and Autumn heard Ren stop walking. Confused, she stopped, too. A few moments later, when the gangsters were about two yards in, Ren started moving again. Making the door intangible, she stepped through, and after figuring out what happened, Autumn followed suit.

There were a few makeshift rooms on either side, blocked off with anything from large pieces of plywood to cloth hanging over a line, but soon enough, the hall opened up into a central hub. About twenty people were gathered near the back wall. As their targets joined the group, they started scanning for a place to hide.

Looking up, Autumn saw that the warehouse didn't have a proper ceiling. The rafters were completely exposed.

 _Rafters?_ she tentatively suggested. _I'll listen from there._

 _Okay._

Ren imagined her wings and quietly flew to the rafters, Autumn not far behind her. They found themselves nestled in a shadowed area where the beams met the wall. Glancing across the room, Ren took notice of another shape making its way along the rafters.

Robin, presumably with M'gann. Apparently, all their guys had been heading to the same place.

 _Hey guys, we're in the rafters at the far side of the room,_ she alerted them.

 _Gotcha._

 _Alright._

The comms fell silent again as they all paid attention to the group below. Ren could make out some of the words, depending on the volume and tone of the person speaking, but nothing that was very useful. Autumn, on the other hand, was utterly focussed on the conversation. They discussed the events of the day and how they related to previous happenings for a while. There was an occasional reference to "our goals." From what she could gather, they primarily dealt with stolen data, though also had a hand in the arms trade.

After a while of listening in and Autumn relaying what she heard to the rest of the group via the mental link, Robin said that he thought they had enough info for now and to head back out.

To keep their cover as tight as possible, Ren and Autumn began carefully crawling back across the wooden beams to get to a window so they could leave. Ren was in the lead and noticed that one of the rafters had a significant crack in it. She almost thought about warning Autumn via the mental link, but decided against it last second, assuming her friend was paying attention to how she was moving but also forgetting that she herself was invisible at the time.

In addition to being unable to see her friend, Autumn still had an ear on the conversation below, so missed the change in the sound of Ren's movements and the crack in the beam. Her hand landed on it with a splintering sound that echoed around the room and immediately caused the gangsters to look up.

At first, their heads pointed in the direction of the sound, but, being unable to see anything or anyone there they slowly turned their heads to look in the opposite direction.

Where they saw Robin, despite his stealth mode being on. There were a few, long, quiet seconds as both parties realized what was going on.

It was broken for the team when Robin's voice rang throughout the mental link with a loud, acerbic, ' _Oh, fuck.'_

As soon as M'gann noticed the gangsters moving for their weapons, she yelled, ' _Move!'_

And they were off. No longer caring about being quiet, the foursome scurried across the beams and out the windows, the sound of blindly fired gunshots left in their wake.

* * *

Their full report was met with a somewhat confused Batman and Black Canary, a bewildered Robin and M'gann, and an embarrassed Ren and Autumn. The team was well known for accidentally blowing their cover on covert missions, but it was rarely for something as simple and avoidable as the rafter-crawling equivalent of stepping on a twig. This was especially true when it came to a pair that was usually pretty in sync.

This wasn't just a slip-up. Something was off.

Black Canary stood in front of the four, ready for answers. "What happened out there?"

"I don't know," M'gann said with a shrug. "Everything was going well for the longest time, and then they saw us. Or… Robin, technically."

"I should have said something. I noticed the cracked beam and thought Autumn noticed it too, so I didn't mention it. I know better than to just assume." Ren looked back and forth from Canary to Batman, gauging their reactions.

"I, um, was still listening to the gang's conversation," Autumn hesitantly added. "I wasn't paying attention to the state of the beams or the change in Fantasia's movement."

Robin spoke up from his spot next to M'gann, "Now that I think about it, the both of them were being… unusually quiet during the entire mission. I mean, quiet for Tasia."

Canary and Batman both turned their sights on the two heroes in question. "Okay, you two, what's going on?" Canary asked.

Autumn uncomfortably shrugged.

"Nothing that I know of," Ren added.

Canary looked between the two of them, studying each for a moment, before sighing, "Something I have noticed over the past few months is that you two have a severe lack of communication between yourselves at times. I wasn't going to mention it, because it didn't seem to be too big of a deal, but now that it is affecting missions, it needs to be sorted out."

Batman glanced at his fellow Leaguer, "What do you propose we do?"

"I think the two of them, right now, need to sit in a room together and have an honest conversation to figure out what is going on. It can be just the two of you alone, or I can sit in if you want."

"Nope, alone is fine," Ren immediately said, Autumn, nodding in agreement.

* * *

Ren and Autumn settled themselves in a secluded sitting room with the door closed. The Creatonian found herself tense and ready to run at the drop of a pin as she sat down but forced herself to push through. Dinah had made a really, really good point. They did have bouts of severe lack of communication, which they never really addressed. And the fact that it was affecting them in the field…

It might be time they actually had the conversation the both of them had been unconsciously avoiding. Ren chewed on her lip, dreading having to start the discussion that would inevitably lead her to have to open up.

But, she considered Autumn one of her best friends, and she trusted her so, she at least owed her that.

The two were silent for a good while. Neither knew who should start or how. It didn't take too long for the impending weight of the conversation to become a bit much for Ren. She shifted in her seat.

"I-," she took a deep breath. "I'm not very good at this if you couldn't tell. Um, but, I guess I'll start." She stopped for a moment before drawing her knees up to her chest, making her look younger than she already was. Her voice was quiet as she spoke.

' _Bad idea_ ,' the Voice sang. Shut up.

"I don't open up very much. It tends to make me really uncomfortable, which I don't like, so I run instead. Like I really want to do right now. I don't really know why, or maybe I do? Um, I'm pretty blessed with the life I've been given. I have a wonderful mom who has a stable job and a fantastic little brother who brings joy into my life. And I've got the best friends I could ever ask for. Like, sure, I've lost things, ya know? My dad.

"But not, not as much as other people. I don't want to seem ungrateful or bother people with my problems when they have their own. And to hide what I am feeling, I go a bit drama queen on people, so they'll leave me alone. I know I need to work on that. I'm sorry for the times I took stuff out on you.

"And so, I feel like I don't have the right to feel bad about anything when people are going through so much worse every day. I should be able to handle stuff on my own. Other people do every day. My mom has single-handedly raised two kids really well with little to no help. And my Godfather has been through hell and back, and yet he still takes everything in stride. I've been through less than them, so shouldn't I be able to do it too?"

' _You aren't strong enough._ ' Go away.

Ren squeezed her eyes tightly shut, pausing for a moment before slowly continuing on, "And I, I, hate the thought of people looking at me with pity because of Daddy or something. I don't need it. I don't want it. I don't wanna risk it. And so, I don't bother with it.

"And I'm good at reading people and seeing what's wrong, which a lot of people like because they don't have to explain as much. It's always been easy for me to empathize with them and be there for them. To help in some way, because I can't do much more than that. And I like to help.

"But you, you are the one person I can't read to the depth I do other people. You're really good at wearing a mask if you didn't know," Ren cracked a small smile.

' _She's going to pity your pathetic little self until the day you die_.' Fuck off.

"And it is really frustrating because you're one of my best friends and I love you, and I want to help, but the only way I know how to, I can't really. And so, I push. Too far, a lot of times, I know. And I do that because I don't like to see people struggling, I guess. But, I think, a lot of the times I was pushing to satisfy my needs instead of doing what you actually needed.

"And that… was narrow-minded of me and selfish and I am sorry. That's why I tried the opposite approach this time, of giving you space, even though that didn't work too well. But, I am trying. And I will try with a revised approach next time, to be there for you how you need me to if you want that. A lot of it is a habit, at this point. That's not an excuse, more of an explanation.

"I'm trying to be more aware of when I get too pushy with you, so I can fix my behavior. But, sometimes, in the moment, that awareness escapes me. So, I want you to know it's okay to call me out on it, as Rob and Wally and my brother do. And I won't get offended. Okay, I might in the direct moment, but it will wear off fast. Um, and also that you can still talk to me about deeper stuff, if you want, on your terms. So… yeah."

' _No one needs you_.' Leave.

She buried her head between her knees and let out a muffled, "God, I hate this."

There was a long stretch of silence.

' _See, no good ever comes from things like this_.' Quiet. Still, shouldn't she have said something by now? Ren wrapped her arms around her knees and squeezed tight.

"I... love you, too."

Autumn's faintly choked voice finally broke the silence, and Ren looked up at her friend. Her expression was a jumble of emotions. There were fondness and warmth in her eyes, but also some pain. She looked stunned and a little... sad. Not disappointed or pitying, just sad.

And overlaying it all was her "guilty face."

"Ren, I..." She stopped for a moment, swallowed, then started again. "Just because there are people who have bigger problems than you, doesn't mean you're not allowed to be sad. Or angry, or hurt. It's like... that's like saying that you aren't allowed to be happy, because someone out there is happier. No one is going to think you're ungrateful if you tell them that you're upset. They're just going to think you're... sentient." An uncertain determination crossed her face as she looked Ren square in the eye. "You're a living, feeling being and you deserve to feel allowed to express it because you're amazing and whatever voice in your head is telling you that you aren't, needs to... to screw off."

'That's very true,' Ren thought.

Her moment of confidence gone, Autumn locked her fingers together and allowed her gaze to shift around the room.

"And you don't need to, apologize for pushing me too far. I don't think that's you being selfish, I think that's you doing your best with what I've given you. I know I... don't really show when something's wrong. You're right, I am really good at wearing a mask. And most of that is, just, an unconscious... thing, I think. I'm just not... not used to having people I can turn to. I'm used to _needing_ to hide what I feel because if something were wrong, it would either be taken advantage of or ignored. Or, like, the thing that was wrong involved something I couldn't explain to the people around me, for my own safety. And, I always forget that it's not like that anymore." She sent a small smile at her friend. "Some of your pushings was actually very helpful. I... needed the reminder and the-assurance, I guess?-that you actually wanted to know what was happening.

"But I think that part of it is also-I'm not sure, but I think it's my way of avoiding pity. Because I don't want-" She cut herself off and took a breath, steeling herself. "I don't feel I deserve it. I don't deserve pity, and I don't deserve the compassion that goes into it. And I don't want to make others uncomfortable because they aren't sure how to respond. So I just show nothing. I'm sorry that it's made you frustrated-that's not what I was trying to do."

Ren cut her off there, "You deserve to have someone to listen and you deserve to have compassion. Also, you don't need to be sorry. It's not your fault and trust me, I get it."

Autumn smiled, relieved. "Thanks. And good. Great. I'll, uh, try to work on it though." Her smile drained away a little bit. "But, I also understand-not so much the frustration, I suppose, but, wanting to help someone and not knowing how. I... You're my first friend since Gavina, and because that didn't end well... I don't know how to help people in general. But I still want to. So when you looked upset a little after we first met, I tried what you did with me and... that didn't end well, either. And after that first fight, Robin said that when you're upset with someone, you give the silent treatment, and you end it when you've forgiven them. So when you passed by me earlier today without saying anything and then didn't speak during the mission, I... misinterpreted it. I thought you were mad at me."

"Yeah," Ren said with a sigh. "I do need to work on the 'over dramatic silent treatment' thing I do. I guess that ties into the 'avoiding opening up' stuff. And I am sorry about that, I guess I took it too far in the other direction."

"It's alright," Autumn said. "You were trying to help. I just... read into everything too much."

There was yet another moment of silence, which Autumn broke. "To fix our 'lack of communication,' next time something's wrong, I will try to remember that I can come to you. And if I don't, just ask me what's wrong or what I need. I'll try to be straightforward." She looked up. "And if you ever want to talk... I may not know what to say, but I'll listen."

Ren took a deep breath and brought her feet back down to the floor, "I may just take you up on that, in specific situations. Again, something I am working on I guess." She gave a small smile and suppressed a giggle, "God, we're kinda fucked up, aren't we?"

Autumn chuckled and wiped at her eyes. "Yes, just a lot."

Standing up and stretching, Ren yawned, "Well, being emotionally vulnerable makes me exhausted, apparently. I think this was good for us though. We should do it again in the future but to a less dramatic extent."

Autumn closed her eyes and finally relaxed into her chair. "I've been exhausted since last week, I barely noticed the difference. Maybe if we just do this periodically, we won't have to do anything as intensive for a while."

"Sounds good to me," Ren said with a laugh. She stretched her arms out to the younger girl, "Hug it out?"

Autumn smiled and stood up, walking into the other girl's arms and accepting her embrace.

After a moment, Ren released Autumn and stepped back, but not before ruffling her hair, "C'mon kiddo. Let's get out of this room we've been stuck in for the past hour."

"Please."

* * *

The two girls made their way to the common area of the Cave, where it was empty except for Black Canary swiping through her phone, pretty clearly waiting for them. She looked up when she heard the footsteps coming towards her and smiled at the two younger heroes, "How are you guys?"

Ren glanced at Autumn, who looked more content than she had seen her in weeks, then back to Black Canary with a smile on her face. "A lot better than we've been in a long time."

* * *

 _Fin_


End file.
